Anand Giridharadas wrote an article in The
New York Times on May 21, 2010, titled, "Follow My Logic? A Connective Word Takes the Lead." We read:

"SO this is about the word "so."
Giridharadas says, "What is new is its status
as the favored introduction to thoughts, its
encroachment on the territory of 'well,'
'oh, 'um' and their ilk." Galine Bolden, a
linguistics scholar as even written academic
papers on the use of 'so.'

In Yiddish, the word for so is "azoy." Google
"azoy" and you'll get 68,400 results. The
first listing, "Nisht Azoy," the second album
of Montreal-based klezmer band, Black Ox
Orkestar.

Ernest Priestly writes, "so" implies expertise
and special knowledge, enchancing the weight of the answer and the status
of the
answer. Mitch Kohn of W. Hollywood, CA,
in a letter to The New York Times, said,
"So" implies that we're in the middle of a
continuing conversation; it's the touch of a
hand on my shoulder."

Paul Robeson (1898 - 1976) was conversant
with 20 languages, fluent or near fluent in
12. He sang in Chinese, Russian, German
and Yiddish. he sang, "Vi Azoy Lebt Der
Kayser?" (AKA "How does the Czar live?"),
a Yiddish folk song. Part of the lyrics are
shown below:

___________________________________________Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:
"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction? Yiddish
Trivia." To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com